Chille DeCastro: Arrests, Conviction, and Federal Lawsuit

Jose “Chille” DeCastro is a YouTuber and self-described First Amendment auditor who runs the Delete Lawz channel, which has more than 500,000 subscribers and is built around his recorded confrontations with police. His work has produced multiple arrests, a Las Vegas obstruction conviction that a district judge overturned on First Amendment grounds in July 2024, and federal civil rights lawsuits in Nevada and Ohio.

The Las Vegas Traffic Stop That Sent Him to Jail

On March 15, 2023, DeCastro walked up to a traffic stop being conducted by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Branden Bourque in a parking lot near Flamingo Road and Grand Canyon Drive. He began filming from about ten feet away and asked the woman being stopped whether she was okay. Bourque ordered him to back up. Court filings say DeCastro moved back roughly five feet, refused to go further, and told the officer he was press.¹

Body-camera footage caught him telling Bourque to “mind your business” and calling him a “little doggie.” Bourque detained him for obstruction. He was handcuffed, taken to jail, held about five hours, and released with citations for misdemeanor obstruction and resisting a public officer.²

The case went to a bench trial before Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman in March 2024. Bourque testified that DeCastro had failed to comply with an order to move back at least 20 feet.³ Defense attorney Michael Mee argued the order was unlawful and that DeCastro was exercising the public’s right to record police.

The trial itself blew up. On March 19, 2024, DeCastro called a courtroom marshal a “pig” after being told to hand over his phone, and Zimmerman threatened contempt until he apologized.⁴ Zimmerman said from the bench that his conduct looked deliberate: “He wants to get arrested, he wants to get into an altercation with police officers. He welcomes this, this helps his YouTube channel.”⁵ When DeCastro gave her a thumbs-up, she ordered him arrested and sentenced him to 180 days in the Clark County Detention Center. His motion for bail pending appeal was denied. He kept posting to Delete Lawz from jail through recorded calls.³

How the Conviction Was Overturned

DeCastro hired appellate attorney Christopher Oram, who argued the case was a straightforward First Amendment matter, pointed to Nevada law allowing citizens to film officers, and said the charges were “trumped-up.” Oram acknowledged his client’s behavior could be annoying but said officers are obligated to tolerate it. He also argued Zimmerman should have recused herself.²

On July 10, 2024, District Judge Michelle Leavitt overturned the conviction and dismissed the charges. Leavitt ruled the case involved “First Amendment-protected conduct” and noted the video showed DeCastro had complied with officers’ requests to step back.²

The Federal Lawsuit Against Las Vegas Metro Police

DeCastro sued in April 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. DeCastro v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, No. 2:23-cv-00580, named LVMPD, the State of Nevada, Officer Bourque, and five other officers.⁶ The complaint raised 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims for unreasonable search and seizure, First Amendment retaliation, equal protection violations, and supervisory liability, along with a § 1981 race and viewpoint discrimination claim and state-law claims for assault, battery, false arrest, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, and negligence.¹

In October 2023, Judge Andrew P. Gordon dismissed several claims. The Fourth Amendment claim was dismissed with prejudice, with the court finding officers had probable cause to arrest for obstruction under Nevada law. Excessive force, supervisory liability, and assault and battery claims survived.¹

The case was terminated on February 20, 2026.⁶ DeCastro’s own fundraising page describes the outcome as unfavorable, and he filed a new federal suit against LVMPD around the same date, docketed as 2:26-cv-00373.⁷

The Ironton, Ohio Case

DeCastro was arrested in Ironton, Ohio, on March 29, 2022, after traveling to the small southeastern Ohio city and saying he was there to “fight police corruption.” Police say he was ordered to leave the Ironton City Center, refused, and was booked into the Lawrence County Jail on disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, and resisting arrest. He posted a $1,500 cash bond and was released the same day.⁸ He pleaded not guilty on March 31, 2022, and said he would represent himself.⁹ He then missed a second pretrial hearing on May 26, 2022, and Judge Kevin Waldo issued a bench warrant and added a failure-to-appear charge.¹⁰

In 2025, DeCastro filed a federal civil rights suit over the arrest. DeCastro v. McKnight, No. 1:25-cv-00613, was originally filed in Nevada but transferred to the Southern District of Ohio after the Nevada court found no defendants resided in or had substantial connections to Nevada.¹¹ Representing himself, he alleged impeded activity, wrongful arrest, damage to his cellphone, and defamation by Ironton officials and the Lawrence County Commissioners. As of mid-2026, several defendants had been terminated, but claims against John Chapman and the Lawrence County Commissioners remained active.¹²

Other Arrests and How He Funds the Fight

DeCastro has said on body-camera recordings that he has been arrested at least four other times around the country for filming police.⁵ In February 2024 he was arrested again in Las Vegas at the scene of a fatal hit-and-run after telling officers to “shut up” and “mind your business,” and he pleaded not guilty to a separate obstruction charge in Las Vegas Municipal Court.⁴

He has paid for his cases partly through a GoFundMe campaign that raised close to $13,800 of a $16,000 goal, along with cash-app tips promoted on his channel and sales of a $25 flier called “Learn the Law. Know Your Rights.”⁷ He has described his income as coming from “selling legal documents to people.”⁵

1
Justia. DeCastro v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, No. 2:23-cv-00580
2
Las Vegas Review-Journal. YouTuber Accused of Obstructing Las Vegas Officer Has Conviction Dismissed
3
Davis Vanguard. Judge Jails First Amendment Auditor Cop Watcher for 180 Days
4
Las Vegas Review-Journal. YouTuber Self-Proclaimed First Amendment Auditor Gets 6 Months Behind Bars
5
Police1. YouTuber First Amendment Auditor Gets 6 Months for Interfering With Las Vegas Police Traffic Stop
6
CourtListener. DeCastro v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
7
GoFundMe. DeleteLawz Legal Fund
8
WOWK-TV. Controversial YouTuber Arrested in Ironton
9
WOWK-TV. DeCastro Pleads Not Guilty, Will Represent Himself
10
The Ironton Tribune. YouTuber Chille DeCastro a No-Show for Second Pretrial Hearing, Warrant Issued
11
Midpage. DeCastro v. McKnight
12
CourtListener. DeCastro v. McKnight